Founder Feature: Amie Kesler of Carolyn's Krisps
Amie Kesler, founder of Carolyn's Krisps, explains how she scaled her dairy-free, gluten-free snack brand from selling cheddar crisps out of a cubicle to operating four commercial facilities. She details the R&D process of adapting her grandmother's recipe using coconut-based cheese and the operational shift from hand-rolling to using an extruder, which initially caused texture issues before being refined. Kesler also discusses her retail strategy of leveraging independent retailers like Fresh Market, managing pack size and pricing, and gaining buyer insights by opening a pop-up snack shop in Chicago that stocks other small brands.